Kansas coalition forms PAC against Kobach

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach announces his campaign for governor on Thursday, June 8, 2017 at the Thompson Barn in Lenexa, Kan.

? Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is facing a newly formed fundraising committee dedicated to stopping him from becoming governor.

“StopKobach” is a Wichita-based political action committee that formed in August, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

Director Michael Hoheisel said the PAC is working to establish its board and build a website. He said he’s already launched a site opposing Kobach with domain names he predicts the campaign might be interested in. The domains direct viewers to messages opposing Kobach, an idea Hoheisel said he took from past presidential races.

“This is kind of the next step in an evolution of groups and people that have been in contact over the last six years,” Hoheisel said.

Kobach is campaigning to become Kansas’s governor. His work focuses on advocating strict voter requirements after he made unsubstantiated statements of widespread voter fraud committed by people who aren’t U.S. citizens. President Donald Trump appointed him vice chair of his Voter Fraud Commission.

Hoheisel said StopKobach members likely won’t give money to other campaigns, but will instead focus on messaging.

It’s considered rare to have a PAC strictly opposing one specific candidate, but Kobach represents more than one office to many, said Bob Beatty, political science professor at Washburn University.

“His opponents actually see him as a threat to what America is all about, and his defenders see him as defending what America is all about,” Beatty said. “And when you get into those deep issues, they’re going to name him by name.”

The campaign didn’t return the newspaper’s requests for comment.